Metal pallet for brick or tile



Feb; 24', 1925.

l. N. DOUGHTY METAL PALLET FOR BRICK OR TILE Filed May 6, 1921 Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

UNITE.

IVAN N. DOUGH'lY, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN BRICK COM- PANY, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

METAL PALLET FOB BRICK OR TILE,

Application filed 6, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVAN N. Donorrrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danville, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal Pallets for Brick or Tile, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new and improved pallet, and more particularly to a pallet especially adapted for handling of green bricks or tile or similar material.

In the manufacture of certain types of brick and tile, pallets are used to carry the green ware from machines to cars to be sent to the dryhouse. It is customary at present to use as pallets fiat boards or sheets of metal. Pallets of this type have rough edges which are awkward to handle and are likely to injure the green Ware if they come in contact with it. Further, in order to secure adequate strength the metal or wood must be quite thick and heavy. No means are commonly provided for supporting the pallet to afford a hand grip, which is extremely desirable. A pallet having a flat surface is in contact with the entire lower face of brick or tile and this face is therefore prevented from properly drying.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet which is light and strong, which may be readily stacked and handled, which is designed to permit drying of the entire side of the material placed upon it, and which may be readily and easily fabricated.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

Broadly, my invention in its preferable form consists of a body portion formed with longitudinal corrugations and with cleats attached to either end. The edges of the body portion extend downwardly out of the plane of the upper face of the corrugations- The cleats inclose the end edges and are secured to the body portion by rivets or in any other suitable manner. The cleats are provided on the under side of the pallet with a laterally extending, downwardly displaced portion adapted to serve as a support for the pallet. This displaced portion is of sufiicient depth and is placed a sufficient distance inward from the edge so that a convenient hand grip is afforded.

Serial No. 467,381.

I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my inventlon 1n the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 Figure l is a plan view of a pallet constructed according to my invention;

Figure 2 is an edge view of Figure 1;

Figure '3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 isa perspective of one of the cleats.

As shown, the body portion 5 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending strengthening ribs or corrugations. The edges 6 are below the upper plane of the body portion. The cleats 7 are secured to each end of the body portion 5 by the rivets 8. As best shown in Figure 4:, these cleats 7 have the upper portion 9, the end portion 10, and lower portion 11, the latter extending under the body member 5. The inner edge of this portion 11 is downwardly displaced in a reverse angle to form a support 12 for the end of the pallet.

In the use of a pallet, brick or tile or other green ware is placed upon the body portion, and this portion, due to its corrugations, is in contact with only a small part of the bottom area of the material and the air is allowed to reach the bottom surface to perform the necessary drying action. The pallets may be readily grasped by the fingers due to the clearance afforded by the downwardly extending portions 12 of the pallets, and may be thus readily handled. The pallets will readily stack or pile as desired.

Obviously both the size of the sheets and the various dimensions of the cleats may be varied for adaptation to any type of rack or drier car to suit individual requirements.

It has been found in practice that pallets of this type are within a few ounces of the weight of wooden pallets of the same strength and are approximately one-fourth the weight of other metal pallets of similar strength. The pallets made of 18-gauge steel show substantially no deflection under the usual loads. The edges are out of the upper plane of the body upon which the ware is placed and danger of injuring the ware is thus avoided. The cleats protect the hands from injury and also enable sure and more rapid handling. Another feature of my pallet lies in the fact that the several parts are interchangeable and when one is injured it is unnecessary to scrap other parts.

I claim:

1. A pallet of the class described, comprising a body member of corrugated metal, the corrugations extending longitudinally and providing reinforcement against longituuinal bending, and cleats secured to the ends of the pallet, the cleats forming a reinforcement against transverse bending.

2. A pallet of the class described, comprising a body member of corrugated metal, the corrugations extending longitudinally and providing reinforcement against longitudinal bending, thecorrugat-ionsbeing formed upon smooth curves presenting rounded contact surfaces for material placed upon the pallet and permitting access of the air to the major portion of such surfaces.

3. A pallet of the class described, comprising a body member of corrugated metal, the corrugations extending longitudinally and providing reinforcement against longitudinal bending, the corrugations being formed upon smooth curves presenting rounded contact surfaces for material placed upon the pallet and permitting access of the air to the major portion or such surfaces, the lateral edges of the corrugated member being in a plane below the upper plane of the corrugations.

Signed atDanville, Illinois, this 3rd day of May, 1921.

IVAN N. DOUGH'TY. 

